When Xu Mingye brought his bride back to the Xu family, Old Lady Xu was standing in the yard in brand new clothes with a rosy face. When she saw the guests coming to congratulate her, she smiled proudly and said, "My eldest grandson Mingye is very promising! Among all these grandchildren, he is the one I love the most!"
Mrs. Hu, who was supporting her, also smiled, but the smile seemed forced. "That's right. My nephew is a first-rate man with both talent and appearance. Everyone who sees him praises him. When I first saw my nephew, I thought he had a promising future. As expected, he is a perfect match for Miss Fu!"
Most of the people who came did not know the internal affairs of the Xu family. For the sake of Xu Mingye and his new daughter-in-law, many of them tried to curry favor with Old Lady Xu, complimenting her and praising her endlessly, which made Old Lady Xu smile even more proudly.
Mingyu and Madam Xu curled their lips upon hearing this. They were too lazy to deal with this weird mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair. More and more guests came to congratulate them, and they were very busy. Madam Xu and Mrs. Hu didn't even bother to help. They just stood there and said some polite words to the female guests, trying to gain face and make friends. They looked very glamorous and felt that they were quite respected and had a high status.
Mrs. Li also came at this time. As soon as she entered the door, she heard the sound of Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Hu talking and laughing loudly. Mrs. Hu saw her and waved to her quickly. Mrs. Li pretended not to see it and slipped to Mrs. Xu's side, smiling and said, "Sister-in-law, I'm here. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Mrs. Xu smiled at her gratefully, pointed to a basin piled with teapots and cups and said, "Please help take care of the teapots and tea." Seeing Li, Mrs. Xu couldn't help but sigh that among the Xu family's nest of weasels, there were finally one or two good ones.
The wedding procession arrived, and all the guests rushed to see the bride. Fu Lemei's seven brothers all came to see her off. Fu Leqian was still wearing the groom's wedding clothes, ready to rush to meet his bride after seeing his sister off. However, when he stood with the groom Xu Mingye, who was also wearing wedding clothes, Mingyu couldn't help but smile with a bad taste on her face. It seemed as if Xu Mingye and Fu Leqian were getting married...
Looking at the seven male members of the Fu family standing in a row, Mingyu couldn't help but worry about Xu Mingye's future. Seven brothers-in-law who love their sisters like their lives... They are not to be trifled with!
It was almost time to get married. Old Mrs. Xu smiled reservedly and proudly, and stood there with an air of dignity, ready to wait for Xu Changqian to invite her to take a seat and accept the newlyweds' greetings. However, after waiting for a long time, no one from the main house came to invite her. She could not stand outside any longer, and seeing that Xu Mingye was about to lead the bride into the house, she had to be thick-skinned and, with the support of Mrs. Hu, walked into the house with her head held high.
However, after entering the house, she saw the furnishings clearly. There were two tablets on the main seat, one for Xu Lin and the other for Xu Changqian's biological mother. There was a small stool behind the tablet for Xu Changqian's biological mother.
Seeing that Old Lady Xu came in by herself, Madam Xu smiled sincerely and said, "Madam, you came at the right time. I was just about to look for you. Look." Madam Xu pointed to the small stool behind the tablet and said, "Just sit there. Let Mingye and Lemei pay their respects to you!"
Old Mrs. Xu was so angry that she felt dizzy. She looked back at the guests who followed her into the wedding hall and felt as if they were all laughing at her. At this moment, she felt like a duck being forced to put on a shelf and embarrass herself. What she wanted was to sit in the seat of honor and accept the greetings of Xu Mingye and the new bride as the most respected elder of the Xu family, rather than reminding all the guests in such an embarrassing way that she was just a concubine and a successor, and was always inferior to Xu Changqian's biological mother.
Mrs. Xu did not urge her. The smile on her face did not even reach her eyes. She took a step forward and whispered, "Grandma, so many people are watching here, including the relatives!" She had not forgotten how this snobbish old lady had humiliated her precious daughter a few days ago. Now that she saw Mingye marry Fu Lemei, she shamelessly came over, thinking she was a big deal.
Mrs. Hu knew how much the Fu family loved their daughter. If anything unpleasant happened at Fu Lemei's wedding, the Fu family and Xu Mingye would definitely hold a grudge against them. To put it another way, it was none of her business whether Old Lady Xu was embarrassed or not. As long as she could marry into the Fu family, this little grievance would not matter. She would just have to sit behind the tablet.
"Grandma, please go quickly. It will be bad if you miss the auspicious time!" Mrs. Hu urged quickly. She was also full of complaints towards Grandma Xu in her heart.
Old Mrs. Xu looked at Mrs. Hu's trembling fingers, swallowed her anger, put on a stern face, and tremblingly sat down on the chair behind the tablet with Mrs. Hu's firm support. Amid the noisy firecrackers and joy, she watched the eldest wife of the Xu family happily marry their son.
Mingyu stood among the guests who came to congratulate her, looking at Xu Mingye, who was wearing a bright red wedding dress and looked handsome, and Fu Lemei, who was covered with a red veil. She knelt respectfully towards Xu Changqian and Madam Xu. Madam Xu had a smile on her face, but her eyes were filled with crystal tears that were about to fall.
She also suddenly had an urge to cry. Her parents had raised her and Xu Mingye with great difficulty. Now that Xu Mingye had married and started a family, he could be considered to have truly grown up.
After Fu Leqian sent his sister off, he watched his sister and brother-in-law walk into the wedding hall holding the red silk and get married. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. He was immediately helped onto the horse by his brothers and sisters. In a panic, he led the Fu family team to the Anxi Marquis' Mansion, fearing that if he delayed time, he would be beaten by his eldest brother-in-law.
When Fu Leqian hurried to the Anxi Marquis's Mansion, he met Sima Hong at the door. Fu Leqian was a scholar, so he bowed after getting off his horse. Just as he was about to speak in a literary style, Sima Hong came forward and put his arm around his shoulders affectionately, saying, "We are all family from now on, so don't do these false formalities. This is not the norm in our family."
Fu Leqian immediately smiled and said, "Etiquette cannot be abolished..."
Before he finished speaking, Sima Hong complained in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Your old man was too ruthless! He must have beaten Xu Mingye silly, and he took out his anger on me!"
Fu Leqian was a relatively honest person. He blinked and was about to ask: What does this have to do with me
At this time, the two men had already arrived at the gate of Sima Lian's yard. Brother Le Qian was stunned. There was an open space at the gate of the yard, and more than 20 wooden stakes as high as a person were erected in a row. Sima Hong patted his shoulder affectionately and smiled very sinisterly, "Le Qian, since you have married our Tianshui daughter-in-law, the wedding ceremony must naturally follow our Tianshui rules, don't you think?"
Fu Leqian looked at these wooden stakes as tall as a person and spit out foam, and said with a stiff face: "My uncle is right. Logically speaking, we should follow your rules, but... what are the rules?"
Sima Hong laughed and started talking nonsense with a serious expression, as if it was real. "It has to be done strictly according to the rules, and it's even more complicated. The groom has to go through a ring of fire first, and then be chased by the dogs of the bride's family around the house for several miles. He has to beat the bride's brothers one by one, and finally reach the bride's boudoir, and then drink 9981 bowls of sorghum wine. If the bride is satisfied, she will open the door and let the groom in."
Fu Leqian opened his mouth into an "O" shape and came back to his senses after a while. He wiped the sweat off his face. He went through a ring of fire and was chased by a dog... Was he a juggler? Besides, it would be impossible for him to beat Sima Hong even if he was given a hundred years! He could almost imagine how Sima Hong would beat him. "This... Why haven't I heard of this before?" Fu Leqian was puzzled. Could it be that Sima Hong was deliberately making trouble for him
"You are from the capital, so of course you haven't heard of it." Sima Hong said with a smile.
Fu Leqian looked at Sima Hong's smiling face and felt that he was doomed today. Unfortunately, he only brought Fu Lejian, whose fighting ability was weaker than his, and who was of no use.
Sima Hong looked at Fu Leqian's face with satisfaction as it turned from red to white, and then from white to blue. He patted Fu Leqian's shoulder and smiled warmly and considerately, "Of course, we are not in Tianshui now. We have to make some changes and adapt to the local customs. As for me, I love my brother-in-law so much. How can I let you do this? Just go through the motions..." As he spoke, Sima Hong's eyes moved to the man-sized plum huā pile with a smile.
With Sima Hong's encouraging eyes saying "If you are a man, come on", Fu Leqian stepped on the ladder and climbed up the plum flower pile like a duck on a shelf. It was really pitiful for him, a mere scholar... Amid the cheers (booing) and applause (laughing) of the group of soldiers brought back by Sima Hong, he walked around with trembling legs, and when he got down from the plum flower pile with fear and dizziness, he could no longer stand steadily. That's not all. As soon as he got down, he was surrounded by a group of rough men. They took turns to fight with a bowl of wine, shouting that he was the son-in-law of our Northwest people and drank the wine in one gulp!
Fu Leqian was too shy to refuse the wine that was almost poured into his mouth, but he also didn't want to be looked down upon, so he just followed the example of those strong men from the northwest and drank the wine in one gulp. The spicy liquor made him grimace in pain, and when he was so drunk that he felt he was going to die heroically, Sima Hong finally showed some kindness and carried Sima Lian, who was covered with a red veil, into the sedan chair.
Before leaving, Sima Hong held Fu Leqian's hand, and said with a sincere smile: "Brother-in-law, don't blame me. I was tortured badly by my brother-in-law."
Fu Leqian's alcohol tolerance was actually OK, but he drank too much too quickly and suddenly, and felt dizzy, but he was still conscious. How could he not know about the little things going on between the Sima and Xu families? He smiled bitterly and said, "Uncle, you were tormented by your brother-in-law, so you come to torment your brother-in-law?"
Sima Hong smiled, patted Fu Leqian on the shoulder, and said earnestly: "You think it's unfair? It doesn't matter, you also have a brother-in-law!"
Fu Leqian smiled very modestly, as if Sima Hong was joking, but in his heart he was gritting his teeth, thinking to himself, Xu Mingye, you kid, just wait and see! (To be continued